Physiotherapist Consultant - Rick Celebrini

Rick Celebrini returns to Whitecaps FC as a physiotherapist consultant. From 1992 to 1996, the native of Burnaby, BC, made a total of 31 appearances as a defender for the club, which was then known as Vancouver 86ers.

Since concluding his livelihood in professional soccer, Celebrini has enjoyed a distinguished career as a sports and orthopaedic physical therapist in the province of British Columbia after graduating with a degree in physical therapy education from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1992. As a therapist and consultant, Celebrini has worked with the Canadian Alpine Ski Team, Canadian Soccer Association, the NFL's Seattle Seahawks, the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, and the NHL Players Association. Well respected in his profession, Celebrini is also the co-founder of the Athletic Movement Retraining and Conditioning program (AMRC) and a co-founding director of Multi-Sports Centre of Excellence, while he has also served as the sport science director for BC Soccer.

Last year, Celebrini occupied the prestigious role of chief physical therapist at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and was the manager of medical services for the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). He recently completed his doctorate (PhD) in Rehabilitation Sciences at UBC.